Symposium 2012: What’s your outlook for a second Obama administration?

Cartwright: More of the same overregulation and failed economic policies that have driven up our national debt, made us less competitive, killed jobs, raised taxes on American workers and killed business in this country. I think the President has such a big ego and such hubris that his re-election will embolden him in pursuing his radical liberal agenda.

It’s clear that he feels he has this huge mandate in the aftermath of the election, and we’re seeing him try to use that to his advantage with the whole fiscal cliff issue. He’s pursuing this ‘my way or the highway’ strategy that is destructive to the American taxpayers. I have long believed that he has a strong socialist agenda as we’ve witnessed by his massive government takeover of healthcare with the Obamacare legislation. He wants to increase the entitlement state, which he has effectively done. He wants to tax everyone more and spread the wealth. He wants to increase the size and scope of government which he’s done and will continue to do.

Hopefully, after the 2014 mid-term elections, he’ll be a lame duck and he’ll just be relegated to the sidelines. But I wouldn’t put it passed him or his Democratic colleagues in the Congress to try to find a way around the United States Constitution 22nd Amendment to allow him to serve another term.

Let’s just say that he’s probably got about two years of bold ambition left. I think he’ll go after the energy industry. He’s pretty much killed the coal industry. I figure gas and oil will be next on the list. Everyone brace themselves for $6 per gallon gasoline. And everyone’s utility bills are going to skyrocket in the near future. We’re probably going to see massive taxes as Obamacare if fully implemented. He’s still going to work to find ways to increase everyone’s taxes. I think he’s going to continue to find ways to increase government entitlements, particularly for illegals. And I think he’s going to try to find a way to give amnesty to all the illegals here in the United States and open the doors so that we’ll be flooded with immigrants that will vote for him. And I think the biggest push in the next few months is obviously going to be on gun control or an infringement of our second amendment right to bear arms. In the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre, liberals are foaming at the mouth that this could be the opening they need to ban guns or otherwise impose severe gun control laws.

I will tell you this. My biggest fear is that the Republicans lose the House in the 2014 election. If Obama gets control of the whole Congress, America is pretty well doomed. We’ll never be able to break free from the Democrats’ radical liberal agenda.

RMC3: A second Obama administration is pretty much going to look like the first one. We’re going to have the same dysfunctional derelicts running around pushing their liberal agenda. Oh, there’s going to be a few changes, like Secretary of State, Defense and maybe even Treasury. But it’s clear his election victory has emboldened him and his supporters to push their tax and spend agenda, their Robin Hood steal from the rich to give to the poor agenda, their socialist spread the wealth mantra.

On the world stage, we’re going to continue to be perceived as weak. We’ve let terrorists in Libya brutally murder our ambassador and three other Americans with no consequences. They’ve done it once and we didn’t retaliate, so they’ll be emboldened to do it again. We’ve destabilized the entire Middle East with the whole situation in Egypt and Syria and Libya. Iran certainly doesn’t fear us or respect us, so they’re going to continue their quest for nuclear weapons. I suspect they’ll probably get them in the second Obama administration. And, Obama will welcome Iran to the big boys table for those with nuclear arms. That’ll be really good for the region and the world. Yeah, foreign policy is really looking up for the second term.

Domestically, I don’t think the outlook is much better. These people in the Obama camp just don’t get it when it comes to spending. They’re going to continue to spend as much as they can and run up the national debt. And they’ll try to pay for it with increases in taxes. They just refuse to accept that you can’t tax and spend your way into prosperity. But by damned if they won’t keep trying that same failed strategy.

Gun control is coming. Liberals have long hated the second amendment. They want a complete disarmament of the American people, and they’ll look for any opportunity to accomplish that.

Amnesty is coming. Liberals love the illegals because once they can vote, they’re going to vote for the Democrats. They’re just going to keep giving them stuff, lining their pockets until they can give them amnesty.

I think one major development that we’re going to see during the next Obama administration is another downgrade of the U.S. debt. I think that’s almost a given seeing the profligate spending going on in Washington and the apparent lack of restraint. That’s probably going to happen sometime after the next debt ceiling increase in the spring or summer. Another downgrade could have some negative consequences like higher interest rates.

What’s clear, I think, is that all of the policies of the Obama administration are going to keep the economy in the tank. I think we will have that double dip recession in 2013. Unemployment is probably going to start ticking back up, we’ll see another housing crisis, and ultimately, I think we’re going to see an increase in inflation. So, think of the next four years as a replay of the Carter years only a little bit worse.

Sydney: The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook has put gun control on the agenda and it is extremely likely that the President will attempt to introduce new laws. This will probably involve a ban on the sale of semi and fully automatic weapons. Militarily, the war in Afghanistan is winding down which is good news for the President. His focus is now shifting to China and he appears to be enacting a policy of containment by increasing U.S military presence in the Pacific. It will be interesting to see how the President reacts to the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China has shown that it is willing to use its military muscle to get what it wants. Domestically, it seems that Obama will continue to pursue his progressive agenda, rolling out ‘ObamaCare’, and instituting higher taxes for the wealthy. It is likely that he will continue to be frustrated by Congress and that will limit some of the President’s ambitions. Obama’s claim that he is keen to promote energy independence has come under much scrutiny. It seems likely that despite this stated aim he is likely to introduce more EPA regulations that will attempt to address the issue of carbon emissions. Stricter regulations on companies that drill oil (and other measures concerning coal mining) mean that energy independence is in fact less likely.

Michigan: My outlook for the next 4 years is not good. I think that unemployment is the biggest issue. When everyone is working things go pretty well. I can see no way that unemployment can be resolved unless we put everyone on the government payroll. I think taxes will go up, entitlement programs will increase, funding of the wars will not decrease and the debt will rise.

John Adams

"Be not intimidated, therefore, by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom whatever can be warranted by the laws of your country, nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice."